Our take
Two young lovers go on a violent spree and run away together with zero care for anything else outside of their own bubble. You’d think the scene would be romantic, or passionate at least, but director Terrence Malick plays it with extreme detachment. You wonder if the two are actually in love, or if there’s any motivation behind the killings. But before you go down that rabbit hole, the sweeping, epic landscapes of middle America steal your attention and never let go of it. This is a Malick film after all, and all the answers to your (and the characters’) questions lie in the silent grandness of the Earth. This is Malick’s first film, and it will explain all the others that come after it.
What it won
Cannes
1 nom
Venice
1 nom
Berlin
1 nom
The story
An impressionable teenage girl from a dead-end town and her older greaser boyfriend embark on a killing spree in the South Dakota badlands.
Elsewhere
"Written, produced and directed by Terrence Malick, pic is his first feature and it's an impressive debut."
— Variety Staff
Kit (Martin Sheen) befriends Holly (Sissy Spacek) and the two quickly go on a killing spree in their small South Dakota town. They agree to head to the Badlands in Montana to escape and start a new life.
The detachment is both scary and understandable.
Less sensationalized than Bonnie and Clyde, but somehow more devastating.
Streaming arrival
Who picked it
Renee Cuisia is the lead curator at A Good Movie to Watch. In her spare time, she likes to watch K-dramas and analyze them to death. She's also seen You've Got Mail one too many times but is still convinced it's one of the greatest films out there.
